Under Suspicion by Hannah Jayne

HJayne-Under SuspicionI had enjoyed the previous 2 novels in Hannah Jayne’s Underworld Detection Agency series and was excited to get to delve into Under Suspicion, the third novel.  However, I was left feeling rather disappointed.

Being a human immune to magic helped Sophie Lawson get promoted. It’s also made her a major, very reluctant player in a game that stretches beyond even the Underworld. Having handsome buttoned-down Englishman Will as her new guardian is one tempting blessing, especially since sexy fallen angel Alex is mysteriously MIA lately. But as a frightening number of demons start disappearing around the city, Sophie suspects that an Armageddon-level prophecy is about to become everyone’s nightmare. And her investigation is testing her bravery – and Will’s unexpected vulnerability – in ways neither could predict. Now Sophie and Will are fast running out of time as an unstoppable evil prepares to lay waste to demons and humans alike.

Don’t let the really awesome cover fool you.  Sophie may look bad ass but usually she, IMHO, is mostly lucky when it comes to escaping harm.  She is brave in that she suspects some idiot psycho is going after the demons in the San Fran area, and when her employer, the UDA, doesn’t believe her and does nothing, she feels it’s up to her to find out and stop who is behind the killings.  But, to me, she doesn’t stop and think and form a good plan.  She’s a mortal, an important mortal, and I don’t know, she just seems to lack common sense.  I liked her in the first 2 books but now, she is starting to get on my nerves.  Maybe it was just the plot line in Under Suspicion.  To be honest, most all of the characters started to grate on my nerves.  So, the more I think about it, the more my dislike may be due to not being too fond of Under Suspicion rather than with the characters themselves.

**MINOR SERIES SPOILER**

The plot seemed to drag on and on with no  true development towards what I believe to be the series story arc.  That is, Sophie’s purpose as the Vessel of Souls and her father potentially being Satan.  Some big showdown regarding these aspects should be brewing and building within each book, however Under Suspicion didn’t really seem to further this goal. Maybe I am incorrect on my assumptions here.  However, the main plot in Under Suspicion seemed to drag.  The action really felt lacking and slow and well, there really just wasn’t much of it.  Sophie would jump from one person of interest to another.  This “whodunnit” was flat for me.  No true suspense.  The previous novels were much better written and the action had more tension building up to the final reveal that tied up the individual book plot while furthering the main storyarc.

Another issue I had, there’d been this hint of a love triangle brewing for Sophie in the second novel, .  Yet, in Under Suspicion, Sophie gets caught by one of the possible suitors after a night spent with the other (um, yeah I’m not giving away WHO *G*) and the buildup to the hookup was next to nothing.  One guy is basically absent the whole book and the other guy who is around…well, there wasn’t more than him following Sophie around trying to help keep her out of trouble.  Yes, this is UF…but that doesn’t excuse lack of romantic tension if you’re gonna do a triangle or even a “it’s about time those two hooked up” subplot.  Tension…it makes the relationship between hero and heroine work. It wasn’t present, IMHO.

I’ll end my negative ranting at this point. I’d really enjoyed the series til this point and do plan on giving book 4 a shot.  I’m hopeful Under Suspicion was a fluke and the next one will be more on par with the first 2 novels.  I will say kudos to the cover artist, though, it is a spectacular cover ;).

Read Order:
Under Wraps
Under Attack
Under Suspicion

 

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.

4 Comments

  1. Patricia,
    I do hope you enjoy it. IDK there was a “je ne sais quoi” factor with this that just didn’t sit right with me. I tried to convey it best I could, but *shrug*. I am looking forward to the next one…maybe this was just one of those books that was needed to bridge a gap.

  2. I may still check this out since I read the first two (didn’t read the whole review ’cause I want to avoid spoilers) but I agree about her kinda being a moron about things. And she cried waaayy too much in the last book. Please just tell me that the “wagged” her head thing stops. I’m sick of that word!!

    And you’re right, the covers are not indicative of how she is or even how she looks. At all. And why are there different chicks on each of the covers? I liked the first one best, the second one looked like a trampy chick who’s had tons of plastic surgery and, sorry, I know you like it, but I think she looks a bit like a tranny on the third cover.

  3. Kristin,
    You know I can’t even remember on the “wagged” part, to be honest. I was so not pleased with other things that this didn’t register. I agree on the covers not portraying. And no offense taken on your opinion. I don’t even notice the faces LOL. The models could differ b/c they may not have been able to get the same model each time. *shrug*

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